Day 6 – Today was wild and untamed. This is why we wanted to come to Canada and specifically Quebec. Someone told Daddy in Montreal that Quebec had been blessed with nature. Today we caught a brief glimpse of that at Parc rĂ©gional de la Rivière-du-Nord.
It was only a short 17 min drive from Lake Serenity and we headed straight for the Welcome centre. The centre had an interesting mix of a giant fireplace, boutique cafe and a large collection of taxidermy on the walls.
Thankfully, all the animals passed away from natural causes and were found on the property. Not like Osbourne House on the Isle of Wight which was a true horror show.
We came to the park to find Wilson Falls, the site of a famous paper mill and supposedly the third most popular waterfall after Niagara and Montmorency.
Another cool aspect is the trail leading to the falls is the “Arts Trail” where artists have created wooden sculptures that fit into the landscape. They were large and incredibly detailed and not one had been touched or broken.
The first part of the walk, went through some wetlands and a bird sanctuary. We caught our first glimpse of the red winged blackbird.
As you start to join the river, it widens quickly. We saw a small group fly fishing and a few other walkers. More cool sculptures.
We learnt that the national emblem of Canada is the Beaver, hard working and tenacious.
Nate wanted to show off his beaver skills.
Daddy got his usage out of Google Translate which was used in Live Camera mode and worked seamlessly to translate all the signs and historic information.
The colours and space were amazing, every path could fit 20 people on it. It’s also dog and bike free as it’s a protected nature reserve. No single piece of rubbish was spotted all day.
These were some of the earliest settlers who brought seeds and plants over from France.
While Daddy read about the history of the missionaries, the boys decided now was the time to practise their limbo skills!
Heron spotting!
As the trail bends around you can see and hear the power of the falls upstream. About half way, there is a huge bridge across to the site of the old papermill. We used the opportunity for jumping photos – standard!
Some classic quotes from the boys today. Nate = “There’s a tortoise down there, I can see it’s fin” we think he had too much river spray. Elliott went with “This feels Canada-ish” about walking through the woods.
There were some cool photos of the old paper-mill that used the power of the river for its hydroelectric power. The original mill was constructed by two men and employed 30 people in the 1880s.
The mill was rebuilt a few times and eventually closed in 1958, but there are still numerous original parts of the mill still in tact.
From this vantage point, you have front row seats to the power, noise and spray from the river.
Another thing we noticed was houses! There were houses slightly to the right of the river with no fencing or boundaries. It seems like Quebec is either a lot safer or people are a lot more trusting.
As we walked back, Elliott started to chat with a slug he found on the path. He was there for about 5 minutes!
More amazing sculptures.
The further up the river you go, the easier it was to get closer to the river bank and capture some awesome photos.
Daddy even tried to get artsy with the filters.
Not forgetting some fabulous shots of Daddy and the boys! Daddy had some time to get thoughtful and deep with nature (as did Elliott) and I think these photos reflect that brilliantly.
We finished up and started to head back to Black Beauty, what an amazing day!
We needed a quick stop at the sports store on the way back. Elliott enjoyed trying everything on and looking at $400 ice hockey sticks.
We also needed to grab some milk in the nearest IGA Express. One thing you don’t see in Tescos, a tank of live lobsters 🦞 being selected for cooking.
One IGA woman had a combination of a paddle and a fork and was jabbing various lobsters in the butts as people were assessing them.
Lobster seems to be a thing here. It’s not every day you see this level of efficiency.
The best part was once said lobster had been chosen. The women lifted the poor thing out of the tank and into a McDonalds Happy Meal style card box and handed it over to the customer. A live lobster just moving around in the box, as they walked down the bread aisle. The women didn’t seemed phased by it at all.
That’s it for today, tomorrow is Mother’s Day in Canada so we are doing what we would if it was Mother’s Day in England.
We are going to a nature reserve to try and find eagles, hawks and peregrine falcons. Supposedly 80% of all the raptor birds in Quebec live in the Alfred Kelly nature reserve which is our destination tomorrow 🦅
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